One Week
by DarkandtwistyGirl
Summary: AU. What if Cruz had started treatment just one week earlier? *Complete*
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch, or the characters thereof. This is just for fun.**_

**_Enjoy and please review!_**

* * *

**Chapter One**

NYPD sergeant Maritza Cruz was dying, she had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia just two weeks earlier, but the disease was worsening rapidly, and she was running out of time.

Maritza didn't want to subject herself to the treatment; the idea of having toxic drugs pumped into her body, losing her hair, being sick, and probably dying anyway, it wasn't for her. Maritza thought she could handle her illness all by herself.

But as Maritza's condition deteriorated, and she realised that it would not be long before her time would be up, Maritza realised that she was not ready, she did not want to die.

* * *

Cruz was working on a string of robberies; she was in interrogation with a suspect when in a moment everything changed. The suspect suddenly pushed his chair back, a look of disgust on his face, "Aww damn, girl that's nasty!" He exclaimed.

It was only then that Maritza realised that blood was seeping from her gums; she quickly excused herself from the room, and not before she grabbed a tissue to attempt to stem the bleeding, Maritza ducked outside to call her doctor, this had scared her more than she cared to admit.

It seemed that it was time for Maritza to face her illness.

* * *

The haematologist, Dr Martinelli met Maritza in the outer office, "Sergeant Cruz, come in." The physician didn't want to waste any time.

Maritza followed Dr Martinelli into his consulting room.

They had barely sat down before the haematologist said, "Maritza, you cannot continue to ignore your condition. If you elect to forego treatment, it's a death sentence."

"It's a death sentence either way, right?" Cruz tried to keep her voice steady.

"It doesn't have to be," Dr Martinelli said firmly, "The odds aren't excellent, but you are young and in otherwise good health. With treatment I think you have a very good chance of remission. But we need to admit you to the hospital, today."

"My people are waiting for me out on a stake out, I can't be admitted today."

"You need to start treatment tomorrow, for that to happen we need to admit you today."

"I have court tomorrow. Can't it wait just one more week? I can clear my schedule by then."

"You need to cancel court; you cannot wait until next week. You are out of time."

* * *

After much argument, Maritza agreed to be admitted to the hospital; Dr Martinelli had a nurse escort her upstairs to the oncology/ haematology ward. As they walked past the outpatient chemotherapy unit and then through the ward, Maritza couldn't help but be frightened by the sight of all the people that they passed, people who all had one thing in common, cancer.

* * *

Officer Manny Santiago, Maritza's second in charge, was sitting in his car, watching their target, but as more time passed his attention turned to the fact that his sergeant still had not returned from her supposed dental appointment.

* * *

Maritza was shown into a single room at the end of a long hallway, the nurse handed her a standard issue hospital gown, and pointed her towards the room's ensuite to change. "If you could please get changed into this, then we can get your admission paperwork sorted out, and get you settled in."

Maritza took the gown silently, and went to change.

Just as Maritza went to close the door, the nurse asked her, "Is there anyone that you would like us to call for you?"

"No, there's no one," Maritza said shortly, closing the ensuite door.

* * *

Dr Martinelli ordered an array of blood tests, a bone marrow biopsy, and a lumbar puncture, he also arranged for a surgeon to take Maritza to the OR that afternoon to have a PICC line put in her right arm to give easy access for the chemotherapy and an ommaya port placed under her scalp, also to facilitate the treatment.  
Numbly, Maritza consented to the procedures, there was some doubt expressed by the nursing staff as to whether Cruz had fully realised what the latter procedure entailed. To place the reservoir it was necessary to put Maritza under a general anaesthetic, shave a small section of hair from the top of her head, cut open her scalp, drill a burr hole through her skull, and finally inserting the catheter deep into the ventricles of her brain, before setting the attached reservoir in place and suturing the skin closed.

* * *

By the evening Maritza was feeling thoroughly sore and sorry, she was trying to fall asleep when Dr Martinelli finally came in to speak with her about the treatment he had planned.

Maritza startled awake, sensing someone in the room, she looked up to see her doctor standing at the foot of her hospital bed.

"I'm sorry to wake you Maritza, and to have not been up any earlier, I have had back to back appointments all afternoon. The nurses said that you handled all the procedures this afternoon like a pro."

Maritza shifted, trying to get comfortable, as she told the doctor, "Wasn't too bad."

"That is good to hear," Dr Martinelli replied, before telling Maritza, "I've spoken to the pathologist who reviewed your lab studies from today. I have looked at the treatment options, and I have found a chemotherapy regimen, hyper-CVAD, it's a combination regimen of several drugs, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, methotrexate, cytarabine, and dexamethasone, I think that in combination with cranio-spinal radiation therapy it is a solid first attempt to achieve remission of your disease. You can ask the nurses any questions you may have about the treatment."

"I've got a question... How long will I be here?"

"In all likelihood you will need to stay in the hospital for the duration of the chemotherapy induction phase."

"And how long is that?"

"Four to eight weeks. This is not a simple treatment, in the coming weeks it will almost completely destroy your immune system, your blood cell and platelet counts need to be monitored very closely. As well as the treatment, we will most likely need to give you blood transfusions, platelets, and various medications such as G-CSF, a growth factor to help your body to repair and protect itself. I am not going to lie to you, this treatment will make you feel very sick for awhile. But for now it is best that you try to get some sleep. Are you sure that there's no one you would like us to call for you?"

* * *

The next morning, shortly before eight am, a nurse came into Maritza's room, pushing in front of her a large trolley laden with supplies, patients usually came to know it as the 'chemo cart'.

"Good morning, Maritza," The nurse, Carla greeted Cruz, who was just waking up. "I'm here to start your morning cyclophosphamide infusion."

Maritza lifted her arm out from under the blankets, without even looking up, she gave the nurse access to her PICC line.

Carla worked quietly, cleaning one port of the PICC line, before hanging an IV bag on the stand beside Maritza's bed, and connecting the bag to Maritza's line, she also gave Maritza an anti-emetic injection into her line, started a line of saline to help Maritza remain hydrated, and started a third IV bag running in, this one was mesna, a drug to prevent damage to the kidneys that could be caused by the cyclophosphamide. The nurse gave Maritza a gentle pat on the shoulder as she told her, "Okay Maritza, that's all there is to it. We'll let this run in over the next couple of hours, then I'll come back and unhook you, so just take it easy, and if you need anything just press the buzzer."

* * *

Cruz slept through until the first infusion was nearly finished, she woke up feeling a bit nauseated, but nothing too bad. She looked up at the two nearly empty IV bags with dismay, this was her life now, and she hated it.

Maritza sat up slowly, she felt a little dizzy, she gently swung her legs over the side of the bed, as ill as she was feeling, it still felt good to be upright. After waiting a minute, Maritza stood up, she grabbed the IV pole, and using that as support, Maritza walked slowly over to the chair where her belongings had been left the day before, she wanted to check her phone, she knew that the precinct must be looking for her by now.

Maritza had turned her phone off before she had gone into her appointment with the haematologist, when she turned the phone back on, messages and missed calls started to pop up.

Cruz didn't even bother listening to the messages, she shuffled back over to the bed, phone in hand. Once she was again seated on the edge of the bed, Maritza dialled the number for the fifty-fifth precinct.

* * *

_**TBC...**_

_**A**__**s always suggestions and constructive critism are welcomed.**_

_**Thanks for reading! Please take a moment to drop me a review!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch, or the characters thereof. This is just for fun.**_

**_Enjoy and please review!_**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

The desk sergeant called Lieutenant Swersky to the phone as soon as he learnt that it was Cruz who was calling.

It took all of Maritza's strength not to let her current situation and the weakness that she was feeling show in her voice as she spoke to the lieutenant, "Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't call in." She said the next part so slowly, trepidation in every word, "I am in the hospital."

"What the hell happened, Cruz?!" Swersky demanded, unaware of Maritza's predicament.

Maritza hardened her tone, "I've got a few weeks leave coming up, I need to take it now."

"Talk to me Maritza, what's going on? Why are you in hospital?"

"I don't know when I'll be coming back to work. Can you cover me, yes or no?"

"Are you injured?"

"Yes or no?"

"I'm sure I can shift some people around."

Maritza hung up the phone, she had gotten what she wanted, and staying on the line seemed to be of no benefit to her. That and Maritza felt like she was about to be sick; she had no time to make it to the bathroom as the nausea suddenly worsened, unable to stop it, Maritza threw up on the floor.

* * *

Once she finally got back in control of herself, Maritza pressed the nurse call button.

Carla came into the room less than a minute later, again with the trolley, she quickly appraised the situation before her, and then moved to help Maritza change into a clean gown, before helping her back into bed, she then took a plastic basin from the trolley, and handed it to Maritza, "Here you go Maritza, if you feel like you need to be sick again, try to aim for the basin."

* * *

Carla called for housekeeping to come in, once she had, she moved to check the IVs. "Your infusion's finished, Maritza. One down... I just need to run in another bag of saline, and then I'll give you your tablets. Oh, and your radiotherapy is scheduled for four fifteen this afternoon."

* * *

Back at the precinct, Swersky had been surprised to discover that Cruz had hung up on him, he went upstairs to the anti-crime unit, someone there had to know what was going on with their sergeant.

No one gave him any information, but what Swersky had to say did get the attention of one officer, Manny Santiago.

It took Officer Santiago less than an hour of calling around the city's hospitals to find where Maritza had been admitted, and he could not get there fast enough.

* * *

Maritza was resting listlessly, she was now finished with all but the saline infusion, and she was taking the time to hopefully get some sleep before they zapped her with radiation.

That rest however was interrupted when her partner burst into the room.

Maritza was exhausted, she couldn't even find the energy to sit up, she focused in on who had just entered the room, "Manny? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could say the same. What's going on Maritza? What are you doing here?" Santiago said as he walked towards Maritza's bed.

"How'd you find me?"

"Swersky said you were in hospital, I called around til I found the right one. No offence serge, but you don't look so hot."

Maritza was pissed that he knew, but she also wanted to get some sleep, and she knew that Manny wasn't going to leave until he got the truth. "I tell you what's going on, and you leave, deal?"

"Whatever, deal."

Maritza sighed wearily, "I've got leukaemia, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. I started chemo this morning. It got to the point, I couldn't work anymore."

Part of Manny had known for awhile that there had been something very wrong with his sergeant, he'd seen that she had been unwell, even when she thought that she had hidden it, but receiving confirmation, that was something else entirely. He respected her wishes, and left soon after, but he would visit again the next day, and each day that followed, until one fateful day.

* * *

It was just four days after Cruz had been admitted to the hospital; Santiago had been reassigned to another partner in anti-crime.

Santiago and Maritza's stand in, Officer Phelps had been heading back to the precinct after being called out to a supposed gang fight, there had been nothing there.

They decided to stop to grab something to eat; they had barely stepped out of the small cafe, when the sound of gunfire suddenly exploded through the quiet streets.

* * *

Manny took two shots to the leg, another couple of hits that were stopped by his vest, his partner wasn't so lucky, Officer Phelps died on scene.

It was just the beginning.

* * *

Gang leader, Marcel Hollis believed that the only thing preventing street gangs from ruling New York City was organisation, and he had everything organised, even from his cell at Riker's Prison, he controlled a majority of the gangs in the fifty-fifth precinct.

An essential step in his plan was to take out the police precinct and as many officers as he could.

* * *

Meanwhile, Maritza lay trapped in her hospital bed, too weak to move, as she had her fourth day of treatment.

* * *

It was not until Manny, who was still recovering from the multiple gunshot wounds, was finally able to get upstairs to visit Maritza that she learnt what had happened.  
To say that Maritza was surprised to see her partner enter her room, in a wheelchair with his right leg elevated and still bandaged, would be an understatement.

Maritza mustered the strength to sit up as she questioned, "What the hell happened to you?!"

Manny tried to lighten to situation, "I just couldn't stand all the attention you were getting."

Maritza was concerned, "What happened?"

Finally Santiago conceded, and told Maritza what had been happening in her absence, "We got ambushed, Phelps and me, Phelps was killed, I took a couple of shots to the leg, I've been hanging out downstairs for the past eight days."

There was a long silence as Cruz digested the news.

"That's not all serge, the precinct was attacked the same night. Everyone got out safe, but the building's gone. It gets worse serge, there's been fifteen shooting deaths in the precinct since the attack."

Maritza knew exactly who would be behind such an attack, "Marcel Hollis."

"He's still up in Riker's."

"Listen to me Manny, this is him, Marcel is behind this, I promise you that," Maritza paused, "I've got to see Swersky, call him for me?"

Manny nodded, "Of course, of course." He then changed the subject, "How're you doing anyway? I tried to get up here a couple of days ago, but the nurses wouldn't let me."

* * *

Lieutenant Swersky was busy, he had been working around the clock since the attack, but when Officer Santiago called, saying that he knew where Cruz was, and that she wanted to talk to him. He rushed to Angel of Mercy Hospital to speak with the sergeant.

Manny had given the lieutenant only the name of the hospital and a room number, and Swersky had been shocked when the receptionist directed him upstairs to the haematology/oncology unit, his shock turned to horror as he entered Maritza's hospital room, and saw the Latino police sergeant lying in that bed, but before he was even allowed to enter the room, the nurses had him don a mask, gown and gloves.

Maritza had finished her first chemotherapy cycle, and was now in a rest period; the treatment had left her unable to fight off infections, they were giving her daily injections of a protein to stimulate her bone marrow to produce more white blood cells, but the present reality was that even a cold could kill her. Maritza was still having daily radiation sessions; all in all Maritza was very ill, and she wanted to get the hell away from it all, but she couldn't, the only way on was through. She was pale, the nurses had her blankets pulled right up to under her chin, trying to ease her constant shivering, with each breath the oxygen mask over her face was fogged, and the small patch of shaved hair at the top of her head was all too visible.

Manny had gone back to his own room not long before, and though Maritza had planned to stay awake while she waited for the lieutenant, but she just didn't have the strength.

Lieutenant Swersky was almost afraid to disturb Maritza, he realised later that he had actually been afraid of the petite woman that he saw, afraid that she would break, that he would hurt her if he so much as touched her. "Sergeant Cruz... Maritza," Swersky called softly.

Maritza's eyelids began to flutter as she awoke, she slowly turned her head towards where the voice had come from, she saw her boss standing there. Using the bed's remote control, Maritza sat herself up, as she greeted her boss, her voice lacking its former strength, "Lieu."

"Oh Maritza, why didn't you tell me?"

"Weakness."

Swersky knew exactly what Maritza meant. "You're not weak, Maritza. Being unwell is not a weakness." At the same time he did not want to overtire her, so he decided to be brief, "What did you want to speak to me about?"

Maritza took some time, gathering her strength so she would be able to get her message out. Finally she told the lieutenant, "Marcel Hollis, he arranged the attack."

* * *

_**TBC...**_

_**A**__**s always suggestions and constructive critism are welcomed.**_

_**Thanks for reading! Please take a moment to drop me a review!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch, or the characters thereof. This is just for fun.**_

**_Enjoy and please review!_**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Swersky had already suspected this, and had passed the information onto the chief of detectives, but Maritza knew more.

"This war, there's a compound; one hundred and eighth and west-end, you want to stop them, blow it, it's the only way to stop it."

Swersky noted the address down, before he thanked Maritza, and promised to take care of it. He then told her, "You get better, okay. We need you back out there."

"Next time I see you, you better not have all that crap on."

"So you want me to come back?"

"It wouldn't be so bad..."

* * *

Maritza's lead panned out, and five days later over sixty gang members were dead and a substantial cache of weapons had been seized, but this only fuelled the worsening gang war; another day in New York City.

Eleven officers from three precincts, including four from the fifty-fifth died in the attack on the compound.

Reconstruction of the fifty-fifth precinct began the day after, in the mean time the NYPD and FDNY agreed to share space in the firehouse during the building work.

* * *

Three weeks after she was admitted to the hospital, Maritza began her second cycle of chemotherapy, this one the doctor warned her might hit her harder than the first as the chemotherapy drugs would this time be delivered into the reservoir under her scalp, with the aim of targeting leukaemia cells in her spinal fluid.

Once again Maritza was woken in the early morning by a nurse pushing the 'chemo cart'.

The nurse, William laid out the supplies he needed to access her port in an orderly fashion.

Though Maritza had never imagined that she would actually want to hear mindless details of the world, being stuck in the hospital for several weeks, she gave in, and decided that anything was better than the silence she was surrounded by so much of the time.

"Did you catch the superbowl last night, Maritza? It was a great game..." William chatted away mindlessly, though his attention was on his work, once he was ready to start though, he spoke to Maritza about something more important, "Okay, I'm ready to access the port now, are you okay there Maritza?"

"I'm fine," Maritza replied, though many fears and questions were running through her mind, she was frightened by the idea of having the chemotherapy delivered directly into deep within her brain.

"I've just got to prep the area, Maritza, your hair apparently didn't listen when we said that the chemotherapy would damage its growth; your hair's grown back in over the port." As gently as he could, William shaved away the area over the reservoir; he knew all too well that by Maritza's next intrathecal cycle, her hair would almost certainly have fallen out completely. "Okay, I'm just going to cleanse the skin now with a little betadine, it may feel a bit cold." William continued to talk to his patient as he accessed the port, starting a two lumen line that would stay in place for the next three days, and then connecting the first bag of methotrexate to infuse. "That's the hard part done, Maritza. I just need to hook up with a maxolon injection into your PICC line, try to keep the nausea at bay."

* * *

The nurse had only just left, and Maritza was already clutching the emesis basin as her body reacted against the chemotherapeutic drugs.

In a simple case of bad timing, news of Maritza's illness had just made it to her colleagues, and Bosco, Monroe, Yokas, and Davis came to see her.

At least her white cell count was back up, meaning her immune system was weak, but present, and her visitors only had to wash their hands before entering her room.

'The sight of Sergeant Cruz lying in a hospital bed, now having lost a considerable amount of weight, her hair starting to thin noticeably, connected to an IV directly into her head, dry heaving, it caught everyone off guard. They knew she had leukaemia, but everyone had just assumed that Cruz being Cruz she would be fine.

Given how ill Maritza had become during her last cycle of chemo, for her it wasn't actually a bad day.

The group stayed crowded at the door, unsure of how to proceed, until finally Bosco announced their arrival to Maritza.

Cruz took a minute to get herself under control, and though the nausea remained she managed to hold herself together. She took in the four people standing in her doorway, "What're you doing here?" Maritza said with a moan, the last thing she wanted was for her colleagues to see her like this.

The only part of this interaction that Cruz would remember pleasantly occurred after most everyone had left, leaving her and Bosco alone. It was as though Maritza

* * *

After five weeks of nothing but lying in a hospital bed, constantly feeling ill, Maritza was getting fed up with it all, she wished that she had just let nature take its course. Being that weak, sickly person who everybody felt sorry for, it drove Maritza mad, at times she felt overwhelmed.

It didn't help her, when that night as she was watching the news, whilst brushing her hair, and as she hit a small tangle, a substantial section of her hair came away in the brush.

In shock, Maritza stood up, and dragging the IV pole, that on that evening held a platelet infusion, beside her, she went into the bathroom to use the mirror.

There was no denying now that the chemotherapy had hit her hair cells, her hair hung limply around her face, and now she discovered that just brushing her hair had left a considerably sized bald patch just above her right ear. She tested it again, pulling on another clump of hair, it took next to no effort to pull the entire section away from her scalp.

In frustration, Maritza grabbed a razor she had gotten from the auxiliary store, deciding that even if most things had been taken out of her control, this was one thing that she could and would control.

Maritza stood there in front of the mirror, shaving away piece by piece what was left of her hair, until there was only very short stubble left behind.

Staring at her reflection, Maritza could barely believe that the person that stared back at her, was in fact herself.

* * *

_**TBC...**_

_**A**__**s always suggestions and constructive critism are welcomed.**_

_**Thanks for reading! Please take a moment to drop me a review!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Third Watch, or the characters thereof. This is just for fun.**_

**_Enjoy and please review!_**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

At last, after seven weeks in hospital, Maritza Cruz was allowed to go home; she would still have to go to the hospital five days a week for radiotherapy appointments, and also to the outpatient chemotherapy unit frequently to have her chemotherapy regimen administered.

She was still very weak, but Maritza wanted to go back to work, as the gang war surrounding the precinct continued as the police struggled to regain control of the streets.

* * *

After being at home for only one night, Maritza got dressed in her long cargo pants and a black tank top, she put on a wig she had purchased that was very similar to her natural hair, she pulled on her jacket and boots, and she drove to the corner of King and Arthur.

Maritza saw the police precinct surrounded by scaffolding and construction materials, she walked past the damaged building, over to the firehouse come temporary precinct.

There had been a couple of desks set up on the ground floor to serve as a reception of sorts for the police; Lieutenant Swersky had just finished morning roll call, and he was at the desk answering phones when he saw Maritza. "Sergeant Cruz? What are you doing here?" The surprise was clear in his voice, the last time he'd seen Maritza she hadn't even been able to lift her head.

Maritza kept her head high, "I want to get back to work."

Swersky nodded thoughtfully, "Come upstairs, we'll talk."

* * *

After some persuading, Maritza was allowed to return to work on modified duties, not that she would obey the supposed limitations.

Maritza had finished the first chemotherapy induction, which consisted of higher doses of the drugs, so as it was expected that the side effects would not be as severe, the lieutenant decided that she was okay to do desk work. This was done under the proviso that Maritza work solely in the precinct, no field work, but she was allowed to resume command of the anti-crime unit.

* * *

As Maritza walked upstairs to the area that had been given to the anti-crime unit, she tried to prepare herself for the response she knew her return would bring, especially since they knew that she'd been in hospital.

It was everything she expected.

The entire anti-crime unit were sitting at their assigned desks, when Maritza entered the area, they all dropped what they were doing. There were 'oh my god's, 'what the hell's, and an assortment of other exclamations as the officers caught sight of their sergeant.

No one was more surprised than Manny, he quickly stood, and crossed the ground between himself and Cruz. "Serge, what're you doing here? You're meant to be on sick leave. Have you spoken to the lieutenant about this?"

"He's cleared me to come back part time."

They stood together in silence, unsure of what to say, until Manny broke the ice, "It's real good to see you out of that hospital, serge."

"Okay, let's get back to work. West, I'll need you to bring me up to speed on all our current cases."

* * *

Six months after starting treatment, Maritza was just days away from finishing the worst of the chemotherapy; the next cycles would be less intensive, aimed at maintaining the leukaemia's remission.

They were now back in the retrofitted police precinct, all repairs having been recently completely.

Maritza was walking down the stairs alongside her partner, anti-crime were going on a raid that night, and they were heading out to meet the rest of the team.

Maritza started feeling dizzy and nauseated, almost as though she was detaching from the world around her, then she felt herself falling.

Santiago had no time to respond as he watched his sergeant collapse on the stairs, before she went into convulsions, he had no time to catch her or to break her fall. "Maritza!" Manny exclaimed in horror as he saw his boss' body going into convulsions, Maritza was also bleeding profusely from where she had hit her head on the edge of the stair, and her wig had fallen off, revealing her completely bald head.

* * *

Someone must have called an ambulance, as just minutes later Carlos and Grace pushed through the crowd of officers that had gathered around Maritza and Santiago.

Maritza had stopped seizing for a minute, but had since started again, Manny was trying to support her head, preventing further injury, her blood covered his pants.  
"What's going on here?" Carlos asked Manny as he and Grace laid out their gear.

Manny was panicked, "One minute we were talking, then she just fell, started shaking, she's hit her head. She's having chemotherapy for acute leukaemia."

"Alright, we'll help her. How long has she been seizing for?"

"It was about a minute the first time, then it stopped for awhile, but it started again."

"Alright," Carlos replied, before telling Grace, "Let's get her on the backboard, start an IV, we'll go ahead and try four milligrams of lorazepam slow IV push. Put her on ten litres oxygen by mask to be safe."

"She has a PICC line in her right arm."

"Thanks," Grace said briefly, looking to Manny, before she cut up the sleeve of Maritza's jacket to quickly access her line, so that she could hook up a bag of saline, and push the lorazepam.

"Is she okay?" Manny asked with concern; no sooner had he spoken than Maritza's body finally started to relax.

* * *

Lieutenant Swersky ordered Manny to ride with Cruz in the ambulance to the hospital, he mostly knew the treatments she was having, and so he was the obvious choice.

As he sat in the back of the ambulance, watching as Grace worked on his partner, Manny could hardly believe that the unconscious, thin, ill woman lying on that gurney was the same woman that he'd met just eighteen months earlier, the woman who had been so confident and self-assured.

* * *

Dr Martinelli met Maritza's ambulance as it pulled up at the hospital, by then Maritza was waking up, but still very groggy. The doctor helped Grace and Carlos lower the gurney, before they took Maritza inside, as Manny followed close behind.

They made the mistake of taking her through the emergency department, a very dangerous place for someone who was immunosuppressed.

The seizure was a side effect of the intrathecal chemotherapy, the drugs had irritated Maritza's central nervous system, but as Maritza had finished the intensive chemotherapy, Dr Martinelli told her that it was unlikely to happen again.

She needed several stitches in the back of her head, and as a precaution the doctor admitted Maritza to the ward, just for a few days of observation, but all things considered it wasn't too bad.

* * *

It was the night before Maritza was due to be released, when she woke up feeling feverish and weak. She could barely turn on her side, as she started throwing up.  
It was over an hour before a nurse came around to check on Maritza, and found her collapsed, unconscious on the floor. The nurse hit the emergency button before going to Maritza's side to check on her.

* * *

Maritza was rushed to the intensive care unit, her body was being ravaged by an infection. The doctor started her on powerful antibiotics and medications to stabilise her blood pressure, but she was very ill, the ICU team were forced to intubate her, and place her on a ventilator to breathe for her.

* * *

The nurses called the precinct, knowing that their patient was a police sergeant, and that given her condition she might not make it through the night; there was no next of kin listed in her chart, and no one deserves to die alone.

* * *

It was just after midnight, and the third watch were preparing to go home for the night, when the call came in. Swersky first notified Manny, knowing that he and Maritza were close, then he went into the locker room to inform the officers, and to suggest that anyone who wanted to should go to the hospital to be with her.

* * *

Eleven officers from the precinct, including Santiago, Monroe, and Bosco went to the hospital, and over the following seventy-two hours in pairs they took turns sitting with their fallen colleague.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
